I

would like to welcome you and your family to the AIS community and to the Senior Kindergarten Dragonflies
class. My name is Julie Ann Estacion and you can call me Ms Julie. I come from the Philippines where I
earned my teaching degree (Bachelor in Special Education) at West Visayas State University. I am your childs
new teacher! I have been a Kindergarten teacher at AIS since 2007. I am married and I have a son named
Zyle who is a student at AIS. I am excited about starting a great year with new students joining the Senior
Kindergarten JES-Dragonflies!
I would also like to introduce our Support Teachers (STs) for this year, Ms Huong and Ms Thu. We will be
working together to make sure that the children will have a safe and fun environment.
To help everyone get off to a great start to the year, listed below is some important information about Senior
Kindergarten.

School drop-off and pick-up

School begins at 8:00am and finishes at 2:30pm.
Children in Senior Kindergarten may arrive at school
from 7:45am. Children arriving between 7:45-8:00
will be supervised in the classroom by the teachers.
At the end of the day at 2:30pm, children will be
walked down the stairs by the teacher and Support
Teacher.
Parents or guardians can collect their children from
the playground. (If it is a guardian that regularly
picks them up then they will need to arrange a
carers pass from the front office). Please do not go
up to the classroom during pick up time (unless it is
necessary). At pick-up and drop-off times, parents
who enter the school are asked to remind their
drivers not to park in front of the school and return to
pick you up when you call them to tell them that you
are ready.
If someone else is to pick up your child or your child
is going home with another students carer, please
notify the classroom teacher (via email or diary) or
the office before this change of routine takes place.
Nannies/carer will require an AIS Approved Carer
Card which can be organised via the office.
Absent from school
If your child will be absent or late to school please
either call the office or email your homeroom
teacher.
Morning Routine
Every morning children are to leave their bag
outside the classroom (locker with their name on it).
They are to leave all food and drinks inside the
classroom in the snack/lunch wooden box. Children
must also put their folder and sticker book in the box
inside the classroom. They have to put their own
name up on the Who is here today? board and then
they can play downstairs until the bell rings. Let your
child know that you will see them soon and say a
quick goodbye. We do not encourage parents to
stay for more than a few minutes at the start of the
day as this can make it more difficult to say
goodbye. Thank you for your understanding.

School uniform
School uniforms are mandatory. The positives of
wearing a uniform are reducing Wardrobe Wars each
morning before school, saving the wear and tear on
regular clothes and of course showing a sense of
belonging to the AIS community. Uniforms can be
purchased at the Cherry Blossom campus. Senior
Kindergarten students are not required to wear black
school shoes. Proper walking/climbing shoes or Crocs
are preferred as footwear. It is best to provide your
child with shoes that they can take off and put on easily
by themselves. On PE days, children must wear
sports/running shoes. We will help your child with PE
shoes and socks if necessary. If your child prefers to
wear Crocs to school you can pack running shoes and
socks in their bag for them to change into for the PE
lesson.
Please note, jewellery and fancy hair accessories are
not permitted as they interfere with day to day school
activities. If your child has long hair, please ensure it is
tied back.

Birthdays
We enjoy celebrating birthdays in our classroom.
Parents may wish to bring a small cake or cup cakes to
share with the other children in the class. Please
contact us about this so we can arrange a suitable
time. We have a no candy and no nuts policy in the
school and we do not encourage children to bring
gift bags for each student.
If you wish to give out an invitation please give it to the
teacher and the teacher will put them in the childs bag.
Parent helpers
Parents can get involved in the school in many ways:
Come and share your knowledge about our
Unit of Inquiry
Come and help during swimming times
Read a favourite story to the class (see sign up
outside Dragonflies classroom) or let the
teacher know of your availability to read us a
story
Attend the numerous special events at our
school

Help our at extra-curricular activities and

special social events outside school hours

School bag
Your childs school bag should be
large enough to contain a library
book, extra change of clothes (if
possible the AIS school uniform),
school diary folder which will
contain newsletters, certificates and
all those numerous treasures they will be bringing
home. We feel it is very important that your child
carry his/her own bag, not Mum, Dad or a nanny.
Looking after their school bag is a great way to build
independence.

Hats
The children are required to have a hat in their bag
every day. They will use this hat during play time
and for going to the library, swimming and trips.
Kindly put your childs name on it.
Students Folder
The children will have their own clear plastic folder.
In the folder will be the Sticker Book. They have to
bring this folder to school every morning. We
encourage you to check the folder every day for
notes/letters for you.
Sticker Books
Each child will bring their sticker book every morning
and at the end of the day they will get a sticker
which they will bring home to show to their parents.
This is an opportunity to have a conversation with
your child about his/her day at school.

School trips
In Kindergarten, your childs class may take part in field
trips during the year. This is an excellent opportunity for
parents to get involved with the learning process. We
will ask for volunteers to accompany us on these trips.
If parents wish to attend we ask for safety reasons that
siblings do not come along.
Assembly
There will be some Fridays that Senior Kindergarten
students will attend Assembly day and all parents &
friends are welcome to come and join us in the MPR
(Lotus Hall). Certificates will be given out for special
achievements. We will inform you via weekly reminders
and email when these events are scheduled. These
Assemblies will be from 8:15am to 9:00am.
Helper of the Day
Each child takes a turn to be the Helper of the Day.
This is a chance to give the child some responsibility
and recognition. The Helper assists teachers in jobs
that may arise as well as:

Communication
The class has a weebly link where you can view
photos, overviews and reminders of the week. Here
is the weebly link (please note that it is not

uploaded yet. I will inform you once it is

ready to access)
http://aisskjesdragonfliesclass20162017.weebly.com/
Lockers or cubbies
Each child has their own locker or cubby outside our
classroom. This is where their school bag, hat and
any other of your childs belongings will be kept.

Library
Children will go to a library
lesson at Cherry Blossom
campus every TBA. They will be able to borrow a
book each week and therefore will require a labelled
library bag to protect the books. Without a library
bag children will not be able to borrow a book.
Library bags can be purchased at the uniform shop
at Cherry Blossom Campus.

Specialist Areas
The children will also participate in specialist areas

Accompany us on school trips

Being in the centre of the circle during the

Good Morning song
Being the listener for the day and helping
others
Being first in line for any task, game or
transition time
Sharing News (show and tell). We encourage
the helper/helpers of the day to bring in
photographs, objects, mementos, any UOI
related items or any other items to share with
their class and teacher. We want children to
understand that there is much to discover in
their world, and that learning can take place in
life and that their experiences or interests can
provide others a chance to learn. Parents are
encouraged to talk about what they may tell the
class for their show and tell item.
Helping give out stickers at the end of the day

Medication
All medication required by children should be given to
the class teacher and should have a label from the
doctor/pharmacy stating the times and doses required.
Children will not be given medication without specific
written directions from a doctor.
Illness
Parents are requested to keep any unwell children at
home. Please be aware that if your child has a fever
then before they can get the all clear to return to school
it is recommended that you wait another 24 hours. In
the event that a child becomes unwell at school, the
school receptionist will call parents to take him/her
home.
Parent Contact List
All families will be provided with the personal contact
details of all children in each class. This list will be
continually updated as new families join the school.
Parents are asked to contact the Principal or your
childs teacher if you request that this information is not
to be distributed about your family.
Please keep us up to date with any change to contact

throughout the week including Physical Education

(PE), Swimming, Music and Vietnamese language
and Culture (VLC).
Lunches and Snacks
A mid-morning snack of fruit is
provided by the school. If you
would like to send a healthy
snack in addition to this, please
label it and place it in the lunch
box in the classroom. Please
also send a labelled water bottle for your child each
day. This will be kept in the box inside the classroom
for easy access and we will encourage your child to
drink water regularly throughout the day.
Children bringing lunches to school may store these
lunches in the air conditioned classrooms rather
than keep them in their school bags. Please note
that staff will not heat lunches for children. If you
would like your child to have a hot lunch from home,
it can be brought to school between 11:30am and
11:50am and dropped off with security.
Sleep/rest time
If you would like your child to bring a pillow, blanket
or comforter to school for nap time you are more
than welcome. Please make sure these items are
kept in a labelled bag, other than the school bag,
and preferably of a material that allows the items to
breathe, such as cotton. This bag will also be kept in
your childs classroom. We expect that items used
for sleeping will be taken home a minimum of once a
week. To help make this process easier we will send
the sleep items home every Friday. No need to bring
these items if your child doesnt take a nap.
Art and craft
Throughout the course of each week, all children will
engage in creative art experiences. If possible,
parents are requested to supply a labelled art smock
that children can wear to protect their school
uniforms from paint and glue etc. We realise that it
may be difficult to buy these in Vietnam, however, if
you have an art apron available we would appreciate
you sending it in to school. We do have a small
supply of these aprons at school for those children
who do not have one of their own.
Recycling - do not throw it away! Please save all
your tissue boxes/rolls, big/small boxes, yoghurt
containers, buttons, corks, lids, jars, clear
containers, magazines and old clothes. For creative
play we would also love any old household items
such as telephones, sunglasses, hats, scarves etc.
We appreciate all donations.
Swimming
We will have water play for
Senior Kindergarten at the
AIS Sports Centre every
(TBA) In order for swimming
to take place we will require
parent helpers. If you are
able to help with this activity please let us know by
adding your name to the swimming schedule that
will be posted near the classroom door. Swimming
bags and swim suits can be purchased at the
uniform shop.

information. The school requires this information for

communications or in the event of an emergency.
We sing the following songs every day:
Good Morning Song
(sung to the tune of You are My Sunshine)
Good morning helper, good morning teacher
Good morning each and everyone
We come together to share our friendship
And to learn and love and have fun.
Good Bye Song
(sung to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while
shaking hands with everyone)
Now its time to sing this song shaking hands to
say, So long.
You are all a friend of mine, so good bye until next
time
We have learned and we have shared:
We have loved and we have cared.

Thank you for your assistance and if you have any

further questions or concerns you can contact me by
using your childs school diary, my email or feel free to
come and talk to me in person.
Warm regards,
Julie Estacion
Senior Kindergarten Dragonflies Class Teacher
julie.estacion@aisvietnam.com